22 U.S. Code § 292a - Demonstration of solar and other renewable energy technologies in foreign countries

(a) Use of renewable energy systems in United States buildings in foreign countries

It is the purpose of this section to provide for the demonstration of solar energy and other renewable energy technologies in foreign countries through the use of such energy in buildings acquired under subsection (a) of section 292 of this title, in order that—

(1) countries in which such buildings are located may be given visible incentives to develop and use local solar energy or other renewable energy resources to reduce dependence upon petroleum and petroleum products;

(2) markets may be developed for American solar energy systems and components in order to stimulate investment in such systems and components and to reduce the costs of such systems and components to reasonable levels;

(3) in furtherance of the purpose of section 2151q [1] of this title, cooperation may be developed between the United States and other countries in an effort to develop solar energy or other renewable energy systems within a short period of time; and

(4) equipment which is vital to the operation of sensitive systems within United States missions abroad may be made more reliable and less dependent upon interruptible local energy supplies.

(b) Implementation of renewable energy projects by Secretary

(1) The Secretary of State shall implement projects for the application of solar energy or other forms of renewable energy in buildings acquired under subsection (a) section 292 of this title.

(2) The Secretary of State shall select projects under paragraph (1) in consultation with the Secretary of Energy. Such projects shall apply available solar energy and other renewable energy technologies, including those for—

(A) the heating and cooling of buildings;

(B) solar thermal electric systems;

(C) solar photovoltaic conversion systems;

(D) wind energy systems; and

(E) systems for developing fuels from biomass.

The Secretary of Energy shall inform the Secretary of State of all such technologies which are feasible for such projects, taking into account the resources and environmental conditions of the countries in which such projects are to be implemented. Upon the request of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Energy shall provide to the Secretary of State any technical information or other technical assistance which the Secretary of State considers necessary with respect to any such project. Any project selected under this section should be similar to projects which have been demonstrated by the Department of Energy (or any of its predecessor agencies) to be reliable, maintainable, and technically feasible.

(3) Any project selected under this section shall be adaptable to the local resources, climatic conditions, and economic circumstances of the country in which such project is implemented in order that such country will be more likely to implement similar projects.

(4) The Secretary of State shall insure that any project selected under this section is demonstrated to, and available for inspection by, officials and other citizens of the country in which such project is implemented.

(5) In selecting projects under this section, the Secretary of State shall give priority to proj­ects to be implemented in developing countries.

(c) Planning for use of renewable energy systems in construction of new buildings

Whenever any building is constructed under the authority contained in section 292 of this title, the Secretary of State shall insure that the planning for such construction takes into account those renewable energy systems which are available in the country in which the building is to be constructed.

(d) Availability of sums previously authorized to be appropriated

In addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes, $4,000,000 of the amount authorized to be appropriated by section 101(a)(1) of this Act shall be available only to carry out the purposes of this section.

(Pub. L. 95–426, title I, § 105, Oct. 7, 1978, 92 Stat. 965.)

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[1]  See References in Text note below.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Section 2151q of this title, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), was repealed by Pub. L. 96–533, title III, § 304(g), Dec. 16, 1980, 94 Stat. 3147. See section 2151d(a)(2), (b)(2), (c) of this title.

Section 101(a)(1) of this Act, referred to in subsec. (d), means section 101(a)(1) of Pub. L. 95–426, which is not classified to the Code.

Codification

Section was not enacted as part of the Foreign Service Buildings Act, 1926, which comprises this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Restrictions on the Use of Funds for Solar Panels

Pub. L. 118–159, div. G, title LXXII, § 7208, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2532, provided that:

“The Department [of State] may not use Federal funds to procure any solar energy products that were manufactured in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China or other regions in the country, which are known to be produced with forced labor.”